You are the head of sales for an emerging growth hi-tech company but your company’s sales remain stagnant. You are not able to efficiently move your products through your channel partners to the end customers, capitalize on new market opportunities or build successful relationships with your partners. This is not a recipe for success. In an effort to move forward you will need to revise your channel strategy to optimize your channel’s performance; here’s how:
Define your customer. Although this may seem rudimentary, you would be surprised to know that over 30% of sales executives cannot clearly define their target end consumer. It is not only about knowing who your customers are but how, where and why your customers want to buy your products or services.
Once you clearly understand your target customers, you need to re-evaluate your existing channel partners to ensure that they can be effective selling to your targeted customer segments. You will need to communicate the characteristics of a successful customer profile to your channel. You will need to support your channel with the right product positioning and have the necessary marketing materials and collateral to support these efforts.
Support the entrepreneurial spirit of your channel partners. Each channel partner will have their own selling strategies and market approach. You need to recognize these differences, but also provide tools and training to help them effectively communicate the value of your product to the marketplace. You want to harness the entrepreneurial spirit and customer relationships of your channel partners, but you need to control the positioning of your company out in the market place. This can be accomplished by providing easy to use and robust tools for your channel partners. 
Recognize that tension does and will exist. Successful channel partner relationships are about efficiency and the trust. An efficient and trusting relationship leads to sales – which is the name of the game for both you and your channel partners. Efficiency cannot be optimized if tension is present. Tension can take many forms – poor communication, poorly defined territories, poor lead tracking, poor training, poor marketing support, and poor performance management.tner will
You need to be prepared to address these potential areas of conflict. Having a well thought out strategy and following best practices around channel partner management will go a long ways to mitigating the chances that tension with adversely impact performance by your channel.
There are tools used by successful channel partner managers that result in successful relationships. These tools are broadly classified as channel partner management solutions or Partner Relationship Management (PRM). A successful solution allows you to effectively manage the relationship with your channel partners by making it easy for them to engage with you and your company. Better engagement drives better results. Better engagement is accomplished through collaboration and support. Look for a partner relationship management system that demonstrates your strong commitment to successful collaboration with your channel partners. Such a system will reduce the potential for friction in the selling process.
LogicBay’s Partner Relationship Management (PRM) Technology is rich with best practice workflows making it easier for organizations to do business with channel partner re-sellers. The result: More engagement and Mindshare. Greater Efficiency and Cost Savings. Alignment with Channel Partners. And, Performance Improvement for the Entire Sales Enterprise.
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Download this premium white paper to learn Channel Management Best Practices – Make it easy for dealers to do business with you, Heighten dealer engagement, Gain mindshare and maximize financial returns. Learn about LogicBay’s 4Core Best Practice Framework including methods for more effectively training and monitoring dealer employee certifications. |
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Link to LogicBay’s Library of Partner Relationship Management White Papers. These white papers provide best practice ideas on a Channel Readiness and Performance Improvement strategies. Topics include subjects such as: Effectively launching a LMS for the Channel, Applying Lean Principles to Channel Management, Channel Life-cycle Management, Partner Portal Technology Unification, and much more. |
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Link to LogicBay’s Library of Client Case Studies. Learn how LogicBay’s PRM Solutions and Technology have created significant performance gains for clients such as Caterpillar, HP, Daimler Trucks and Outdoor Living Brands. |